STATE TOURNAMENT: Class 2A Recaps
FINALS
#1 North Linn 60 vs #3 Boyden-Hull 41
A very tight game in the first half gave way to a runaway in the second, and it was a North Linn 18-4 third quarter win that was the difference in this one.
Trevor Boge was the man in that quarter, scoring 11 of his 17 points during the eight minute stretch. The 6’4 senior wing finished with 17 points on some sterling shooting (7-9 FGs, 3-3 from deep).
At halftime, it was a one point game, Boyden-Hull trailed 21-20. But a 16-2 run to start the third quarter busted this one wide-open, and North Linn cruised to its first-ever state title from there.
What’s more impressive, is this was the first year North Linn ever played in the 2A field (they had been 1A prior)
Boyden-Hull finished its season 24-3, senior Beau De Jongh and junior Keyton Moser were named to the all-tournament team.
North Linn senior Jake Hilmer was named all-tournament team captain, he finished his all-time great career with 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Team Scoring
BH — 8 12 4 17 — 41
NL — 13 8 18 21 — 60
Individual Scoring
BH: Spencer Te Slaa 10, Carter Francis 9, Josh Heitreiter 6, Tanner Te Slaa 4, Brett Van Der Wilt 3, Beau De Jongh 3, Keyton Moser 3, Andrew Frick 3,
NL: Jake Hilmer 20, Trevor Boge 17, Austin Miller 8, David Seber 8, Carter Johnson 4, Austin Hilmer 3.
MVP: Jake Hilmer
In his final game as a North Linn Lynx point guard, Hilmer certainly did not disappoint. It was a near triple-double for the ultra-quick senior, 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, he added four steals for good measure; and why wouldn’t he? He’s the all-time leader in steals (and assists) in Iowa high school basketball. Hilmer will be talked about among Iowa high school hoops circles for decades to come.
SEMIFINALS
#2 South Hamilton vs #3 Boyden-Hull
In what’s been perhaps the best game of the tourney up to now, Boyden-Hull was able to stave off a talented South Hamilton squad and get to its first title game since 2013.
Keyton Moser was perfect from the floor, going 7-7 and 2-2 from deep for the Comets, he scored a team-high 17 points. South Hamilton guard Conner Hill was the game’s leading scorer, he finished with 29 points, 20 of them came in the first half.
The game was tight throughout, no team led by more than six, and the crowd was electric. Boyden-Hull will play the winner of top-seed North Linn vs four-seed Van Meter on Friday in the 2A title game.
Team Scoring
BH — 16 12 18 16 — 62
SH — 14 14 16 15 — 59
Individual Scoring
BH: Keyton Moser 19, Beau DeJongh 11, Spencer Te Slaa 10, Brett Van Der Wilt 8, Josh Heitritter 8, Andrew Frick 5, Carter Francic 1.
SH: Conner Hill 29, Doran Lutjen 11, Quinton Grove 7, Logan Peters 5, Cole Berg 5, Cade Balvanz 2.
MVP: Keyton Moser
When you don’t miss a shot in an entire game, chances are you really did a lot to help your team win, such is the case with Moser, who took seven shots and made them all. He was especially useful in the second half, going 5-5 in the last two quarters, and 2-2 from three, to help stave off the hungry Hawks.
#1 North Linn 54 vs #4 Van Meter 47
When the game was very much in question midway through the fourth quarter, Jake Hilmer got to work.
Van Meter has erased a nine-point halftime deficit, and had at one point early in the fourth taken a lead. With 4:47 to go, and the game tied, the senior point guard broke his team out of what had been a lengthy funk, canning a corner three ball to give the Lynx a three point advantage. After a failed Van Meter possession, Hilmer then raced down the floor and found his brother, Austin, for a lay-in. The five point outburst was enough of a cushion to let the Lynx breathe. They were able to cruise from that point on.
Van Meter would get to withing four after a Spencer Lamb 3 with 37 ticks left, but that was the biggest threat after the Hilmer outburst, and it didn’t seem like much of one.
The Bulldogs finish their season 22-3, it was the first time they ever played in a state semifinal Ryan Schmitt finished his exceptional career with a solid effort, going for 10 points, nine rebounds and six blocks. Junior guard Anthony Potthoff led Van Meter with 15 points.
Hilmer will play in his second straight title game with the Lynx, last season they lost to Grand View Christian in the 1A final. He finished this game with 26 points, six assists and five steals.
Team Scoring
Van Meter — 10 11 14 12 — 47
N. Linn — 13 17 6 18 — 54
Individual Scoring
Van Meter: Anthony Potthoff 15, Spencer Lamb 14, Ryan Schmitt 10, Zach Madden 4, Brett Berg 4
N. Linn: Jake Hilmer 26, Trevor Boge 15, Austin Hilmer 10, David Seber 3
MVP: Jake Hilmer
Van Meter had already executed a big comeback in the third quarter, and had the momentum into the fourth. It was tied with 4:47 to go in the game and appeared to be anyone’s to win. Hilmer then had an outburst, canning a corner three and dropping a dime to his brother, Austin, on a fast-break to put the Lynx up five just when they needed it most. That was the most critical stretch of the game, and Hilmer made it so.
QUARTERFINALS
#3 Boyden-Hull 61 vs #6 Iowa City Regina 56
What started off competitive turned into a fairly drama-free win for the well-balanced Boyden-Hull group. The Comets, which are making their 17th-ever appearance at state (first in the 2A field), played efficient and unselfish basketball throughout, Regina could not keep pace. By the time the third quarter ended, a six point Comets lead had swelled to 10. Regina was able to cut the lead late in the fourth; but back within four was as close as the Regals could get.
Boyden-Hull was led by senior forward Beau De Jongh, who scored a game-high 22 points. Regina star guard Mason Miller struggled early, before going on a late scoring spree, he finished with a team-best 17 points.
The Comets improve to 23-2 with the win, they’ll play the winner of Rock Valley and South Hamilton in the semifinals.
Team Scoring
Regina — 13 11 11 21 — 56
B-H — 15 14 15 17 — 61
Individual Scoring
Regina: Masen Miller 17, Ashton Cook 9, Luke Stein 8, Nick Wagner 8, Bryce Barnett 7, Scotty Arendt 5, Alec Wick 2.
B-H: Beau De Jongh 25, Keyton Moser 11, Josh Heitritter 6, Spencer Te Slaa 5, Andrew Frick 5, Carter Francis 4, Brett Van Der Wilt 3, Tanner Te Slaa 2.
MVP: Beau De Jongh
The lengthy and tough forward poured in a game-high 25 points and was getting to the foul line early and often, where he was 10-14 in the win. This is a solid and well-balanced Comets squad, but there’s no question who the best player on the team is.
#2 South Hamilton 73 vs #7 Rock Valley 61
For the last two seasons, South Hamilton made early exits at the state tournament. Conner Hill was there to make sure that didn’t happen this season. The senior guard poured in 16 first half points and helped keep the hot-shooting Rock Valley squad at bay. Hill finished the game with a game-high 22 points.
The Hawks led by nine at halftime, despite Rock Valley shooting 50 percent from the floor in the first half. Things got a little dicey in the fourth quarter, when the Rockets pulled within three, 61-58, at the 3-minute mark, but Cole Berg made some big plays late and the Hawks were able to make their free-throws to help secure the win.
With the loss, Rock Valley finishes its season 18-8. Jaxon Rus was the leading scorer for the Rockets with 18 points, he’ll be the lone returning starter next season.
Team Scoring
RV — 14 19 17 11
SH — 18 24 17 14
Individual Scoring
RV: Jaxon Rus 18, JT Van’t Hull 14, Elliott Van Kekerix 13, Brayton Van Kekerix 10, Colton Vonk 4, Brys Van Grootheest 2.
SH: Conner Hill 22, Cole Berg 17, Logan Peters 16, Doran Lutjen 7, Cade Balvanz 6, Quinton Grove 5.
MVP: Conner Hill
He played like he’d been here before, and that’s just what South Hamilton needed out of its star senior guard. Hill got off to a hot start, scoring 16 first half points, and gave way more to his teammates in the second half. If he can play this way the rest of the week, South Hamilton might very well take home a first place trophy.
#4 Van Meter 43 vs #5 Dike-New Hartford 32
This is about what we expected from two of the very best defenses in Iowa. The halftime score, 18-13 was even more eye-opening.
Things heated up, though, in the third quarter. Right from the get-go, the Bulldogs were red-hot, erasing what was a five point halftime deficit in a hurry, and scoring 12 points in the first three minutes of the second half to take a 25-18 lead. And let’s face it, in a game like this, that seven point lead played more like a 14 point advantage, and the Bulldogs never relinquished it.
Seniors Anthony Potthoff and Ryan Schmitt led the way for Van Meter in the program’s first-eve win at state. Potthoff went for a game-high 12 points, and his two 3s early in the third quarter during the scoring spree. Scmhitt went for 11 points and 10 rebounds. Dane Fuller led the Wolverines with 18 points.
Van Meter advances to its first-ever semifinal game, where they’ll face the winner of North Linn and Des Moines Christian on Wednesday night.
Team Scoring
D-NH — 11 7 6 8
VM — 5 8 16 14
Individual Scoring
D-NH: Cade Fuller 18, Dane Fuller 6, Parker Kiewiet 3, Ryan Moore 3, Colton Harberts 2.
VM: Anthony Potthoff 12, Ryan Schmitt 11, Spencer Lamb 6, Chris Schreck 5, Zach Madden 5, Brett Berg 4.
MVP: Anthony Potthoff
The senior guard scored a team-high 12 points to go along with seven rebounds, and was critical during a third quarter stretch in which the Bulldogs outscored D-NH 12-0.
#1 North Linn 68 vs #8 Des Moines Christian 45
From the very start, North Linn was overwhelmingly good in this one. In the first two minutes, star point guard Jake Hilmer had nine points on 3-3 shooting from deep. It was over before it really got started.
The Lynx, which feature the state’s best offensive average regardless of class, poured in 24 first quarter points. A well-rounded squad, North Linn also boasted Class 2A’s third-best defense this season, which explains the two points it allowed in the second quarter.
Hilmer was crazy good, scoring 21 first half points and finishing the game with 34 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals. Des Moines Christian was shell shocked from the get-go and and could never recover; the Lions were led by Justin Groen’s 14 points.
North Linn will play Van Meter in a semifinal match up on Wednesday at 8:15 p.m.
Team Scoring
DMC — 12 2 13 18 — 45
NL — 24 9 19 16 — 68
Individual Scoring
DMC: Justin Groen 14, Curran Ingram 9, Ben Loverdude 8, Seth Juhl 8, Elijah Hess 2, Spencer Hixson 2, Jackson Waring 2.
NL: Jake Hilmer 34, David Seber 10, Trevor Boge 9, Austin Hilmer 6, Austim Miller 5, Carter Johnson 3, Andrew Peiffer 1.
MVP: Jake Hilmer
The Upper Iowa basketball and baseball commit was running circles around the Lions from start to finish. He set the tone early with three deep 3s right off the bat for North Linn, and never took his foot off the gas. He’s a special player, and it would seem he’s on the verge of a special run here in the 2019 state tourney.